Housing hypocrisy

When I read Cllr Neil Baker’s comment in last week’s Gazette about lobbying central government to value and build more social housing I questioned whether he had had a heart put in.

The Conservatives have been selling off council housing for 30-odd years, and is even now forcing the sale of housing association homes.

Has he forgotten that the Tories voted against a motion in parliament to force slum landlords to make their houses habitable? Jonathan Elliott Sydney Road, Whitstable enhance the role of the area member panels may be on the right track.

Those who consider the establishment of town councils may be a good idea should take a look at the current precept being collected by the respective district councils responsible for town councils at Dover (£717,000), Deal (£382,568), Broadstairs (£463,352), Ramsgate (£578,526) and Faversham (£372,814), while the established parish councils within Canterbury district of Herne and Broomfield and Chartham have current precepts of £146,053 and £122,082. It is not unreasonable to anticipate precepts of £500,000 for each of the town councils that may be proposed in Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable. That equates to an additional £1.5 million from the pockets of council tax payers in the areas concerned, for very little or no tangible benefit.

We have a good democratic system whereby every four years we elect ward councillors. If they fall short of our expectations, it is our fault for not calling them to account. Councillors should be required to explain themselves to their electorate on an annual basis at a public meeting.

There is little doubt that the expansion of area member panels in such a way that would include the participation of representatives of residents’ associations and community forums would extend the democratic involvement of those very highly motivated people that Harry describes as “nerds” but who are, in reality, the salt of the earth. What we need is for councils to demonstrate a genuine desire for greater inclusiveness and we could move forward at little or no extra cost. Alan Thomas Cathedral View, Market Way, Canterbury practical measures to achieve this. The Mountfield Park development would lead to upwards of 28,000 additional car journeys per day.

Even though our judicial review has failed (so far), we’re pleased that the issue of poor air quality is rising up the agenda. Sooner or later, the city council and developers are going to have to come up with far more ambitious ways of tackling this problem. Personal attacks won’t get us anywhere. Michael Rundell Wincheap